Joe Johnson: We’re better than the Knicks

Tomorrow night is the big night. Other than D.J. Khaled’s 37th birthday (true!), November 26th marks the first matchup between the New York/Manhattan Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets. Despite how often the two teams like to pretend there’s no rivalry, and despite how often some fans like to pretend that there’s no “true” rivalry between these two, they’re still compared, dissected, and contrasted constantly. Just track #Nets or #Knicks on Twitter and you’ll see what I mean.

Joe Johnson also sees what I mean, via ESPN NY:

Johnson remains steadfast in his belief that his Brooklyn Nets are better than the New York Knicks.

“Yeah. It’s just what I feel,” Johnson told ESPN NewYork.com after scoring a team-high 21 points in his team’s 98-85 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday afternoon. “I’m not gonna expand on it, but that’s just the way I feel.”

Deron Williams lauded the excitement for the night, saying after the game he expects a lot more Nets fans in there than in previous years.

Brook Lopez, when asked about his view on this Knicks team: “I’m probably the wrong guy to ask about watching basketball, but I definitely have heard they’ve been playing great basketball.”

As for Reggie Evans? “I couldn’t care less… This is my 11th year in the league. I’ve played the Knicks about 100 times. It’s just another game. … If we win, we’re not going to be all in the middle of the court celebrating, like “woah oh!” we’re not going to poppin’ no champagne or nothing like that. Just another game.”